i. Skeletal regeneration

              Skeletal regeneration can be accomplished by a new material that acts as a scaffold for the human body to repair bones with chips missing.  This material, poly(lactide-co-glycolide), is placed in living bones, which allows the osteoprogenitor cells, the cells that build bones, to attach to the scaffold. The cells also release enzymes that break down the scaffolding.  This allows the bone being built to completely replace the compound.

 <the process of bone growth>

 c. Nanotechnology            

              Medicine is one of many fields incorporating nanotechnology.  Current usage today can be seen in nanostructured materials identical in composition to bone for orthopedic use.  One area of current research focuses on nanofiber based tissue engineering.  Nanofiber scaffolds would be used to support stem cell growth outside the body for cardiovascular tissue grafts and hard tissue grafts inside the body.

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